Lessons in Chemistry

Fans of vintage eye candy like Mad Men and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will be enraptured by the look of this series, and the acting and storytelling are compelling enough to seal the deal. At its heart, Lessons in Chemistry is an aspirational fairytale, the story of a woman who never doubts herself, her work, or her talent, despite the rest of the world doing just that. Brie Larson is, as always, relatable and easy to love, and the expensively dressed sets and actors in candy-colored clothing make the show's central pro-woman messages go down easily. They're well-articulated in Zott's words in her smash hit cooking show: "In my experience, people do not appreciate the work and sacrifice that goes into being a mother, a wife, a woman. Well, I am not one of those people."

Viewers sympathetic to feminist issues will cheer these moments in particular, as well as the ones in which Lessons in Chemistry dramatizes the challenges Zott faces after an unexpected pregnancy. Trapped in one of the worst situations a woman could be in the 1950s, she not only finds a way to survive but becomes an unintended media star a la Julia Child, and a champion not only for her own, but for all women's sovereignty, dignity, and respect as well. Lessons in Chemistry is a pleasure to watch, easily as much of a treat as the novel from which it was adapted.